NEW YORK, March 21, 2016 /CNW/ -- GroupM today announced the launch of LIVE Panel, a new consumer and media insight solution enabling its agencies to more efficiently develop precise and targeted media plans so advertisers can more effectively reach their audiences, measure outcomes and seize competitive advantage. With seamless access to a global panel of more than 5.5 million consumers in 30 markets, LIVE Panel delivers the actionable insights needed to inform media decisions for both global and local campaigns. The new platform connects with multiple data sources across Kantar's market leading data and research assets and integrates with the bespoke planning tools of GroupM's media agencies to accelerate the time from insight to planning to implementation.

"In an era of continually evolving consumer behaviors and media preferences across a wider array of channels, marketers who have the most intelligence are at a distinct advantage, and our unique knowledge of audiences worldwide sets us apart in the industry," said Irwin Gotlieb, Chairman, GroupM Global. "Leveraging WPP's data and analytics investments, we know more about media use and consumption behaviors than anyone else. LIVE Panel operationalizes this knowledge to turn consumers into audiences and audiences into customers more nimbly and efficiently for our clients' advantage."

"GroupM's use of our global Lightspeed consumer panels and the integration of a number of our unique data sources - BrandZ, TGI, Connected Life and Kantar Worldpanel ComTech - into LIVE Panel fully realizes the power of Kantar's insights capabilities by embedding them into agencies' media investment management tools," said Eric Salama, CEO of Kantar. "This continues Kantar's strategy of combining survey, panel and census data for the benefit of marketers by connecting us to the client rosters of the world's largest media investment group."

LIVE Panel is the latest tool in a growing portfolio of consumer and media insight planning tools that help GroupM's media agencies, including Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Maxus and Essence to build distinct marketplace offerings that leverage the best data available in regions worldwide. LIVE Panel provides clients of GroupM agencies the following connectivity and benefits:

Understanding of consumers and trends via continuous access to research panels (Lightspeed)

LIVE Panel is launching with an extensive global hub survey generating media knowledge on 30 media and 40 touchpoints including consumers in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

About GroupM

GroupM is the leading global media investment management company serving as the parent to WPP media agencies including Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Maxus, and Essence, as well as the programmatic digital media platform, Xaxis, each global operations in their own right with leading market positions. GroupM's primary purpose is to maximize performance of WPP's media agencies by operating as leader and collaborator in trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. GroupM's focus is to deliver unrivaled marketplace advantage to its clients, stakeholders and people.

About KantarKantar is the data investment management arm of WPP and one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups. By uniting the diverse talents of its 12 specialist companies, the group is the pre-eminent provider of compelling data and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 30,000 employees work across 100 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at every point of the consumer cycle. The group's services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.